A Risk Managing Citizen-Retired Soldier, He Who Hunted Heads, A hoopy e-learning frood who is also a generative artist/teacher, A PMP'n Migratory Executive, A Running Dog Capitalist/Economist, A CSM who has had a Kipling Experience and an Author/Prop - Yummy as Krispy Kreme and as strong as Dunkin' Donuts Coffee!

Tuesday, February 07, 2006

Disheartening News from Bagram

I was reading the Mudville Gazettethis morning (you should be doing that too) when I saw a story about rioting near Bagram AF. My old friend Kabir Ahmed is quoted a few times. I did notice that the Washington Post calls him the Bagram Police Chief...er, not as such. He is the District Attorney - granted, their version of the District Attorney has a lot more power than ours, and he can direct police forces - but he is not the district police chief.

Kabir inspecting construction we were paying for under CERP, for the Bagram District government offices. The most disheartening thing about the riot (after the people being killed, of course) was that the local shops near the first gate were broken into and damaged. This really tells me that outsiders were brought into the area to stage this riot.

I agree...it's begining to get a little personal. We have had two riots there this year because of iresponsible actions of media. The lies spread by Newsweek about the Koran in the tiolets and now this.

Prop, I know that - it is just that CSM and I had some pretty good ties to some of the people in the area (Kabir and I in particular). I am not saying we would have prevented the whole thing, or that nobody else can do anything right, etc (note I said mitigate, not prevent). It is just that maybe we would have caught wind of something a little earlier, etc. I just feel bad for the people who live in Bagram village, not that I am an egomaniac who thinks he can stop all problems in their tracks.

Almost everyone was either happy or curious to see us. I had a couple of bad experiences, but everything else was terrific.That is what was so disappointing about the people coming to Bagram to cause trouble - the local people are used to us, work with us and are quite peaceful.

That is bizzare. When I was in pakistan I didn't even bother trying to get into Afghanistan. Everyone hated me enogh in Pakistan. In Afghanistan if you didn't have a beard of a fist length you were put in jail till you did.

I'm not really in favour of the war on terror as you could probably see from my blog, but I try to make myself aware of all sides.